Greg Freeman: Imagine MetroLink Murals That Teach History As You Ride. 2/12/2002

Headline: IMAGINE METROLINK MURALS THAT TEACH HISTORY AS YOU RIDE
Reporter: By Greg Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Tues. Feb. 12, 2002
Section: METRO, Page: B1, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

Writing the sort of column that I do, it's not unusual for me to get letters from readers with ideas for the city.

Some of them have ideas that seem to hold merit. Other ideas are, well . . . Let's just call them difficult to imagine.
But a regular reader of my online forum, "Greg Freeman's Front Porch, " made a suggestion recently that I thought held merit. She followed up on it with me in several e-mails.
The reader, who modestly asked me to refer to her only as Emma, thinks her project would be a good one for a collaboration between Mayor Francis Slay and new Bi-State chief Larry Salci.

Emma's idea is to use both MetroLink stops and the trains themselves to tell the city's history through murals. "Tourists would love it, and I think it would help connect more locals to our colorful past, " she wrote.
"Our French/Spanish colonial past alone is so rich and entertaining, including women and blacks (free and slave) and Indians. But we're also the product of so many 19th and early 20th century immigration waves -- Irish, German, Italian, Scottish, Swedish, Syrian/Lebanese, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Chinese, etc. We even had a Chinatown located around, I believe, somewhere close to Busch Stadium."

Emma would put Slay in charge, "deferring to his wisdom and experience in actually getting things done." Slay would appoint a team ("let's not call it a commission or blue-ribbon panel, which would mean the project would be doomed from the start").
The team would develop a plan, work on themes for each stop and determine the characters and events to be included in the murals. The team would do this with input from the public, the result of hearings where professionals and amateurs alike would pass along their thoughts.
Once the themes, characters and events were established, the team would establish a competition for specific design ideas for each stop from local artists and wannabe artists. The mayor and team would choose the winning designs. A blind judging process would be set up so that lobbying wouldn't come into play.

"I figure the only real costs would be paint-and-brush-type expenses, " Emma wrote. "Rather than pay for this project with corporate sponsors who would require free advertising in the form of having their logos plastered all over the murals, we'd come up with some kind of raffle where neighborhood organizations sold tickets, with half going to the organizations and half going to the Train Mural Fund. Perhaps tickets could also be sold at city offices.
   "This is going to sound goofy to anybody who doesn't know St. Louisans' affections for gambling and feeling important by thinking they personally know elected officials, but I was thinking we could get the city and county office holders to coordinate raffle prizes like Honorary Mayor, Honorary Comptroller, Honorary License Collector, Honorary Assessor, Honorary Parks Commissioner, Honorary Fire Chief For A Day. Winners would get to hang out with the official official, a personal tour of their honorary empire, a certificate suitable for framing, lunch, and maybe attend some semi-important function.
   "I know tons of people who would each fork over five bucks for five chances or whatever to become Honorary Whatever under this kind of scenario."
    The raffle tickets also would let everyday people have a personal sense of ownership and acquire an excitement for the murals and even MetroLink.
    "Can't you see it now?" Emma wrote. "Folks taking relatives on a MetroLink trip to see 'their' mural."

Sounds like an intriguing idea to me. Mr. Slay and Mr. Salci, are you listening?

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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